WEST MARINE Gelcoat, White, Quart

Product Description

Non-Waxed Gelcoat: High-quality laminating gelcoat that remains tacky upon curing. Ideal for application of several layers, with no sanding between layers required. Use to fill gouges, chips, scrapes and deep scratches in the fiberglass gelcoat. Waxed Gelcoat: Superior quality isophthalic finish (non-laminating) gelcoat that cures to a hard, resilient and glossy surface. Use this product to touch up worn or scratched gelcoat. UV inhibitor is added to increase weathering stability.

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I used this to finish off a transom repair. The core of my transom was rotted, so I drilled 40-50 holes in the transom over a 10" diameter area, and poured "Git Rot" into the holes. I then used Bondo (from auto parts store) to fill the holes. I then used this product to cover the Bondo repairs to the holes and restore the gel coat finish. I applied it with a foam brush like paint. You can keep building up the thickness, as it doesn't sag. I then sanded it down and repeated the process two more times. I also mixed in Evercoat pigment to match the color. Matching the color is a real trick. By the 3rd coat, I had it just right. (The color needs to be a little darker, as it seems to lighten in color as it's sanded.) I wet-sanded the final coat with 80 grit, then 180 grit, then 400 grit, then 600 grit, and finally rubbed it with rubbing compound. I then waxed it. The repair is nearly invisible. If I paid a professional to do it and it came back looking like it did when I was finished, I'd have been satisfied. I plan to use this again for some other small repairs. The only difficult part was guessing how much hardener to mix in when only mixing a few ounces at a time. It has plenty of pot life but each coat set up solid within a couple of hours.

Explained project to salesman and they recommended this product. Purchased two quarts after he said one would be plenty (and I could bring the extra quart back). Just BARELY got two very thin coats out of the two quarts. The original cream color still shows through the new white coats. Now I will have to purchase more and sand the entire bottom of the boat so the extra coats will adhere. In addition, the foam paint rollers he recommended only lasted about five minutes each and started to come apart (putting foam pieces into the newly applied gelcoat). Luckily I found some at the local hardware store that actually lasted. Hate to mix products so I'll probably purchase more of this but would rather not.